The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Magic Hunter Girl Decorates a Dungeon! Episode 015
[Already?]
Grimoire glanced around.
[Did you pick a flower, perhaps? What sort? Or some colorful mushroom?]
“Neither of those.”
[……Absolutely not a caterpillar. I can tell—the bugs here would tear pages from the shelves and smoke them like cigarettes.]
“It’s not an insect either. I need to think about it a little more.”
[But you said you’d decided?]
“I’ve decided what to change. I just haven’t figured out how yet.”
[I don’t follow, but you’ll manage it, I’m sure.]
Grimoire patted Iji’s shoulder, then flew ahead a step.
[Come along. You need to get out of here and rest.]
“Yes!”
The peaceful world of Wonderland.
March Hare, Mad Hatter, and Dormouse were still in the midst of their unending tea party. After waving goodbye and promising to return, Iji ducked her head into a giant mouse hole…….
When she looked up, Iji was standing at the Apartment Complex.
She caught the musty smell of the city. The distant honk of a car horn—”Beep!”—brought back the familiar displeasure.
‘It feels like a dream.’
But the Dragon Scale in her pocket proved the last adventure had been real.
Her limbs began to tremble badly.
[You burned through too much Mana using that skill. You might be bedridden by tomorrow.]
“Bedridden? But that won’t do!”
[Now you’ve learned your lesson. Next time you’ll have better control.]
Grimoire chuckled softly, then transformed into a Korean Textbook and fell silent.
Iji tucked the textbook into her bag and headed home.
The spring evening was cool. The apartment complex was already darkening, but lights glowed in every living room—families gathered for dinner.
‘……It looks so warm.’
Trying to ignore the sharp ache in her chest, Iji plunged her hand into her bag and rummaged around.
The clink of a handful of Magic Stones lifted her spirits a little.
‘My first step to fortune!’
Walking with renewed spirit, she was passing the Playground when she heard a familiar voice.
“Iji, is that you?”
“Oh, Grandma!”
This was the grandmother who used to watch Iji sometimes when she was in kindergarten, back when her older sister worked.
The woman with the striking gold tooth—they’d called her Gold Grandma for ages.
“My goodness, the sun’s already set. Why are you coming home so late?”
“I’m in second grade now!”
“Second grade already? You’ve grown so much. Did you eat dinner? Want to join Gold Grandma for a meal, for old times’ sake?”
“My sister made side dishes at home. I can eat those!”
Now Iji could manage her own meals.
She answered proudly. Yet she couldn’t understand why Gold Grandma’s expression turned even more pitying as she sent her off.
‘I’ll eat quickly and rest soon.’
She didn’t want to get sick.
It would worry her sister.
‘But…… I’m really tired…….’
The moment she got home and washed her hands and feet, all strength drained from her body. Her eyes drooped shut.
Iji managed only to warm up the rolled egg her sister had prepared, then collapsed onto the sofa.
A purple status window blinked before her eyes.
MP (Mana Points) 0/21
Warning!
Immediate rest required!
‘When it hits zero…… you really do feel exhausted…….’
I’ll have to be more careful next time.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Iji fell fast asleep on the sofa.
“Hoo…….”
Only a child’s breath echoed through the empty home.
For Iji it was familiar, but to others, the silence would have felt lonely.
In that stillness.
From beneath Iji’s bed, an uninvited guest poked out a translucent tentacle with a soft pop.
It was a Slime that smelled of strawberries.
The tentacle gradually stretched, circling Iji’s bed once.
“Strange. I hear breathing, but Iji is…… over there?”
After confirming the living room was truly empty.
Slime bounced with a gentle spring, landing on the sofa in one bound.
“Iji, Iji.”
“Zzzzz…….”
“Strange. That’s definitely her name.”
No matter how many times it called, there was no response. Slime felt anxious.
“Is she dead?”
Slime poked at Iji’s cheek lightly—
Grrrrowwwl!
At the sound from Iji’s stomach, Slime startled and pulled back.
That was definitely the noise a hungry belly makes when the food pouch inside is empty.
“Iji, are you hungry?”
“Mmmmgh…….”
She answered. Iji was hungry!
There was only one thing to do for a hungry friend.
Slime drew in a very deep breath.
“Huuuuuhhhhh!”
Strawberry and carbonation gathered on one side of its body, inflating like a balloon.
Slime cut off the swollen bulge and held it in front of Iji’s face.
Psssshhhhh…….
A bubbly balloon of carbonation released its fruity aroma like gossip.
The pleasant stimulation drew a faint smile from Iji’s sleeping face.
What transferred was not only sound and scent and touch.
The sugar and Magic Power held within Slime would slowly seep into Iji.
Which meant Slime would grow hungry itself, of course…….
‘This doesn’t look quite as tasty as what Iji gave me, but it’s appealing.’
On the table, the side dishes Iji had left uneaten gleamed temptingly.

* * *
Morning.
Iji opened her eyes in bed.
‘Huh? I thought I fell asleep on the sofa…… Did my sister carry me?’
It struck her that she hadn’t eaten the rice her sister had prepared properly.
‘What do I do? My sister will worry!’
She’d skipped meals, fallen asleep on the sofa.
Her sister would figure out something had happened yesterday.
‘If she asks what I did, what should I say? …… Should I say I made a new friend and we played so hard?’
Either way, it wasn’t a lie.
Iji worked through her alibi silently as she headed to the living room.
I made a new friend yesterday. I thought it would be hard to get close because she’s kind of prickly? But someone did freezing tag with her and kept her frozen forever, so I unfroze her and she wanted to be friends. We played freezing tag together and I got so tired I passed out as soon as I got home…….
‘That should be perfect!’
“Good morning, sister.”
“You’re up, Iji. Sleep well?”
Her sister’s greeting was bright. But sure enough, the moment Iji sat at the table, her sister’s voice dropped slightly.
“About your dinner last night.”
“Yeah?”
“You cleaned your plate—even the radish broth.”
“What?”
“Eating everything is good! Just don’t eat too much salt.”
‘But I only ate the rolled egg…….’
Iji swallowed her confusion. She turned the question around carefully.
“Sister. When you came home yesterday, was I already in bed, sleeping well?”
“You were curled up tight, sleeping soundly. Like a little chrysalis.”
“Oh…… I see.”
So she had slept in bed after all.
It was good her sister hadn’t worried, but what in the world had happened?
‘Is it because I’m a Magic Hunter?’
A Magic Hunter would eat well and sleep regularly in her room, of course.
Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t hungry at all.
‘Did I wake up in my sleep and eat without knowing?’
A Magic Hunter was certainly a remarkable thing to be.
“You look cheerful, Iji. Did something good happen yesterday?”
Iji started to offer the lie she’d prepared, then stopped.
Her worries had been resolved—there was no need for an untruth.
Right then, the memory of last night surfaced.
“I had a good dream.”
“What dream was it?”
“A friend and I went on a picnic and shared strawberry soda.”
The picnic spot was a beautiful Desert.
“Who was the friend?”
“A friend you don’t know. We met on a picnic trip before…… someone from a different neighborhood.”
A very kind Slime friend.

* * *
During school break, Grimoire popped out of the Math Workbook, then startled at the sight of Iji’s surroundings.
[But this is school! Are you alright? I was sure you’d be bedridden.]
“I’m feeling great.”
[Yet you burned through Mana like that…… impressive.]
“Want to see something even more impressive? My Mana capacity grew after I slept!”
Fractions were third-grade material, but she was glad she’d studied ahead.
It meant she could understand and brag about the situation.
MP 31/31
[……Not only recovered, but maximum Mana increased? You couldn’t have gone to a Dungeon without me. Did you eat Magic Stones?]
“I can’t eat rocks. And I need to sell the Magic Stones anyway.”
[That’s true. Speaking of which, I have something to tell you.]
Grimoire displayed text across the page.
TIP—How to Sell Magic Stones Without a Hunter License
[Jin Si-heon asked me to pass along his Magic Stone selling route. I’ll write it in the back pages—read it when you get a chance.]
“Wow, thank you! But can the two of you talk with each other?”
[I’m the intermediary between you all. Of course, whether that fellow and I actually want to talk is a completely different matter.]
“Tell him good morning then. And that I hope he slept well.”
[…….]
Grimoire furrowed his brow and grumbled.
[Yet you didn’t ask if I slept well…….]
“What? I thought you didn’t sleep—”
[Ahem, never mind! Why did you summon me anyway?]
“I wanted to know when we’re going to the next Dungeon! Have you found anywhere yet?”
[Your heart’s set on it. I was sure you’d be bedridden for days, so I held off looking. Let me see….]
Grimoire raised two pages of the book like antennae.
The pages trembled slightly…….
[……Someone’s coming!]
“Oh!”
Grimoire snapped instantly back into textbook form.
Iji grabbed the textbook in alarm.
‘Someone? How did they get here?’
This was the Dead End Corridor—a part of the school no one came to.
To enter here, you had to crawl under a heap of discarded chairs. Most people, if they weren’t as small as Iji, would drop the chairs and give up.
But reality couldn’t be denied. The uninvited guest made not a sound as he rounded the corner…….
“Iji.”
“Oh…….”
It was Jun-seo, the one who’d been with her through the Desert Dungeon not long ago.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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